Hipaa Violation Attorney Texas: Understanding the Risks and Consequences

In Texas, healthcare providers and organizations are required to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to protect sensitive patient information.

The risks of a HIPAA violation in Texas are severe, with fines ranging from $100 to $50,000 per violation.

A single HIPAA violation can result in significant financial penalties, not to mention the damage to a healthcare organization's reputation.

In Texas, HIPAA violations can be reported to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) by patients, employees, or even competitors.

HIPAA is a federal law that secured the right to privacy for individuals seeking treatment for any kind of condition. It was enacted in 1996.

The law is known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. This legislation applies to most healthcare providers.

The Privacy Rule and the Security Rule are the sections of HIPAA that most healthcare providers must follow. These rules protect patient health information from unauthorized disclosure.

HIPAA is designed to ensure that individuals have control over their own health information. This includes the right to access and review their medical records.

The HIPAA Privacy Rule puts strict limitations on how Protected Health Information (PHI) can be used and shared. This rule defines PHI as any information related to a patient's diagnosis, treatments, or payments for medical care.

The Security Rule requires all hospitals, clinics, and insurance companies to take strict measures to protect their clients' Electronic Protected Health Information (EPHI). These safeguards include administrative, technical, and physical protections.

The Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a rule to strengthen reproductive health data privacy under HIPAA. This rule aims to protect sensitive health information.

HIPAA compliance is not optional for organizations that handle protected health information. In fact, the HHS finalizes rules to strengthen reproductive health data privacy under HIPAA.

Here are some key HIPAA rules and regulations:

HIPAA violations can result in serious penalties, including fines, corrective action plans, and even jail time. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can impose fines on violators, which can be substantial.

Civil penalties are usually issued in cases where the offender was unaware they were committing a HIPAA violation. The penalties range from $100 to $25,000 per year, depending on the level of negligence.

In cases where individuals knowingly obtain or use PHI without permission, criminal penalties are usually issued. These penalties fall under three tiers, with the most severe tier resulting in up to 10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

The OCR issues penalties for HIPAA violations, which can range in severity based on the nature of the offense and the knowledge the offender had of the violation. For example, a company was fined $3 million in penalties and ordered to adopt a corrective action plan after a data breach.

The penalties for HIPAA violations can be astronomical for a single non-compliance incident. For instance, a health system was ordered to pay a $2.4 million fine for intentionally disclosing a patient's medical information in a press release.

Here is a breakdown of the civil penalty tiers:

A HIPAA violation can happen to anyone, regardless of the size or type of organization. In recent years, there have been several newsworthy examples of HIPAA violations.

In 2018, a Tennessee-based medical imaging services company violated multiple HIPAA rules by leaving one of its servers accessible on the internet. This allowed anyone to access and view the PHI of over 300,000 individuals with a simple search.

The company did not notify the affected individuals until 147 days after the discovery, resulting in a $3 million fine.

Organizations are responsible for their vendors (like a server host) also upholding HIPAA compliance standards.

Here are some key takeaways from this example:

A health insurance provider was fined $6.85 million for a data breach in 2020. Hackers gained access to the provider’s computer system with a phishing email that installed malware, which remained undetected for 9 months.

The OCR investigation uncovered “systemic noncompliance” with the HIPAA Rules, including failure to conduct a comprehensive and accurate risk analysis and prevent unauthorized access to the ePHI of over 10 million individuals.

The company also settled a multi-state lawsuit for $10 million and a class action lawsuit for $74 million.

Conduct thorough risk assessments on a regular basis, and use encryption or similar security measures to protect private health data.

A health system was fined $2.4 million for disclosing a patient’s PHI in a press release in 2015. The OCR determined this was an intentional failure to protect the patient’s rights to privacy.

PHI cannot be disclosed without patient authorization, and the penalties can be astronomical for a single non-compliance incident.

A nonprofit academic health system was fined $2.15 million for multiple HIPAA violations, including an employee accessing and selling over 24,000 patients’ records.

Properly secure PHI to protect data leaks, maintain systems to ensure PHI is only accessed by authorized employees for appropriate purposes, and notify the OCR and affected individuals as soon as possible in the event of a data breach.

If you've been a victim of a HIPAA violation in Texas, you're not alone. Medical entities are protected from litigation, but individuals responsible for the violation may be held liable.

You could potentially receive compensation if the violation resulted in real and justifiable damages. For example, a woman in Houston, Texas, received a job offer that was withdrawn after her doctor's office released her medical information without consent.

In cases like these, you have the right to file a complaint with the federal Office of Civil Rights, the Texas Attorney General, and other state agencies. If the individual is found negligent, they could be fined or subjected to criminal prosecution.

HIPAA violations can have severe consequences, including large fines. In one case, a medical imaging services company in Tennessee was ordered to pay $3 million in penalties for violating Breach Notification Rules.

The company did not notify the affected individuals until 147 days after the discovery, which is a serious breach of HIPAA rules. To avoid this, organizations must notify affected individuals within 60 days of data breach discoveries.

It's also important to note that organizations are responsible for their vendors, like a server host, upholding HIPAA compliance standards. This means that companies must ensure their vendors are following HIPAA rules to avoid penalties.

Avoiding HIPAA Violations is crucial for healthcare organizations to maintain patient trust and avoid costly fines.

HIPAA violations often occur due to carelessness or ignorance of HIPAA laws, so providing adequate HIPAA training for employees is essential.

To avoid HIPAA violations, employees should never share passwords or login credentials, and never leave portable devices unattended.

Sending SMS text messages containing PHI is also a no-go, and throwing out PHI in the trash is not an option. Sharing ePHI on social media can also lead to serious consequences.

Accessing patient records without a valid purpose is another common mistake, and taking medical records with you when changing jobs is a serious HIPAA infraction.

Reporting potential HIPAA infractions is key to preventing serious consequences.

Here are some simple ways to avoid HIPAA violations: